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now."
He held her tighter and he didn't give a damn that he was crying and half of Jacobsville could see him.
He had his daughter back, against all the odds.
Callie felt like that, too. She met Barbara's eyes over the counter and smiled through her tears.
Barbara nodded, and smiled, and reached for a napkin. It was so much like a new start. Everything
was fresh and sweet and life was blessed. She was never again going to take anything for granted as
long as she lived!
The wedding was an event. Callie had an imported gown from Paris, despite the rush to get it in time.
Micah wore a morning coat. All the local mercenaries and the gang from the island, including Bojo,
Peter, Rodrigo and Mac were there, along with Pogo and Maddie. And, really, Callie thought, Maddie
did resemble her, but the older woman was much more athletic and oddly pretty. She smiled broadly
at Cal-lie as she stood beside a man Callie didn't recognize, with jet-black hair and eyes and what was
obviously a prosthetic arm. There were a lot of men she didn't know. Probably Micah had contacts
everywhere, and when word of the marriage had gotten out, they all came running to see if the
rumors were true. Some of them looked astonished, but most were grinning widely.
The ceremony was brief, but beautiful. Micah pulled up the veil Callie wore, and kissed her for the
first time as his wife.
"When we're finished, you have to read the inscription in your wedding band," he whispered against
her soft mouth.
"Don't make me wait," $he teased. "What does it say?"
He clasped her hand to his chest, ignoring the glowing faces of the audience. "It says 'forever,' Callie.
And it means forever. I'll love you until I close my eyes for the last time. And even afterward, I'll love
you."
She cried as he kissed her. It was the most beautiful thing he'd ever said to her. She whispered the
words back to him, under her breath, while a soft sound rippled through the church. The couple at the
rose-decked altar were so much in love that they fairly glowed with it.
They walked out under a cloud of rose petals and rice and Callie stopped and threw her bouquet as
they reached the limousine that would take them to the airport. They were flying to Scotland for their
honeymoon, to a little thatched cottage that belonged to Mac and had been loaned to them for the
occasion.
A romantic gesture from a practical and very unro-mantic man, that had touched Callie greatly.
Jack Steele, who was staying at the ranch with Micah's new foreman and his wife, waved them off with
tears in his eyes, standing next to Kane Kirby, who was doing the same. The two men had become
friends already, both avid poker players and old war movie fanatics.
A flustered blond Janie Brewster had caught the bouquet that Callie threw, and she looked down at it
as if she didn't quite know what to do next. Nearby, the whole Hart family was watching, married
brothers Corrigan and Simon and Cag, and the bachelor boys, Rey and Leo. It was Leo who was
giving Janie an odd look, but she didn't see it. She laughed nervously and quickly handed the bouquet
to old Mrs. Smith, Callie's neighbor. Then she ducked into the crowd and vanished, to Callie's
amusement.
"The last mercenary," she whispered. "And you didn't get away, after all."
"Not the last," he murmured, glancing toward his old comrades and Peter, their newest member, all of
whom were silently easing away toward the parking lot. He smiled down at her. "But the happiest," he
added, bending to kiss her. "Wave bye at both our papas and let's go. I can't wait to get you alone, Mrs.
Steele!"
She chuckled and blushed prettily. "That makes two of us!"
She waved and climbed into the car with her acres of silk and lace and waited for Micah to pile in
beside her.
The door closed. The car drove away to the excited cries of good luck that followed it. Inside, two
newlyweds were wrapped up close in each others' arms, oblivious to everything else. Micah cradled
Callie in his arms and thanked God for second chances. He recalled Callie's soft words: After the
pain, the pleasure. He closed his eyes and sighed. The pleasure had just begun.
Table of Contents
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]